Opinions About Sponges

Joe Tony

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I always wanted to keep sponges in my reef tank longterm but have had trouble with them in the past. I wanted to know what your experiences were with orange tree sponges, fan sponges, blue haliclona sponges, yellow ball sponges, etc. Has anyone managed to keep them longterm? Are there products that would enable their longevity? What tank setups have you guys kept them in?
 

dennis romano

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I have a 50 gallon tank with over a dozen sponges and over a dozen gorgonians, both non-photosynthetic and photosynthetic. Tree sponges are tough to keep for more than a year. Mine will fall apart at around 8 to 10 months. They are not dead but the pieces repopulate other parts of the tank. One tiny piece about an eighth of an inch landed on my spiny oyster and is now the size of a marble. Blue sponges, elephant ear, red and yellow ball and red encrusting are much easier to care for. Once these are placed in location, they anchor themselves. Sponges do not like new tanks. My tank has been set up for over twenty years. The tank gets fed at least three times a day. I feed a cube of Hikari Coral Gumbo and a cube of Rotifers in the morning then Reef Nutrition Oyster feast and phytofeast and Reef Blizzard-O during the day and evening. I also stir the bottom to get the microfauna into the water column. So much food goes in that the water gets cloudy. Within an hour, it is crystal clear. They like a moderate current with low to moderate light. Bright light causes algae to form on them which smothers them. I have found that they hate water changes. After a water change, they look lousy. There is no protein skimmer and very little algae, just a few little patches of hair algae. Here is my tank. Not all sponges are visible.
IMG_1303.jpg
 
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Joe Tony

Joe Tony

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Gorgeous tank. Mine is a 30 gallon established with no protein skimmer or filtration. You think some display sponges would do well enough, photosynthetic or otherwise like the ones you mentioned?
 

dennis romano

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Gorgeous tank. Mine is a 30 gallon established with no protein skimmer or filtration. You think some display sponges would do well enough, photosynthetic or otherwise like the ones you mentioned?
How long has it been running? I advise at least a few years. The yellow ball is pretty much bullet proof. Just follow my advice in my post
 
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Joe Tony

Joe Tony

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How long has it been running? I advise at least a few years. The yellow ball is pretty much bullet proof. Just follow my advice in my post
It's been at least two years now. I've got hitchiker white sponges that have been thriving, but ornamental sponges have been hit or miss.
 

elysics

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If anything, I'd be wary of sponges with interesting shapes, such as trees or vases. They usually grew that way into a very particular flow pattern and direction and seem to not like it at all if that suddenly changes, usually responding with falling apart, if you are lucky, small pieces will reattach and regrow somewhere
 

Timfish

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Joe Tony

Joe Tony

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If anything, I'd be wary of sponges with interesting shapes, such as trees or vases. They usually grew that way into a very particular flow pattern and direction and seem to not like it at all if that suddenly changes, usually responding with falling apart, if you are lucky, small pieces will reattach and regrow somewhere
Yeah, so I was just at my LFS, and decided to take a chance with a big orange tree sponge for 20 bucks. I have it in my 30 gallon now right under my powerhead, away from the light and where it'll receive food. I'm not entirely convinced the whole piece will do well in the tank, but it is well established despite the size, and I have several other sponges doing well, including a green one I just noticed on one of my rocks. I'm kind of hoping that, maybe if pruned down to such a degree, it'll reach a small size that'll work better in an established 30 gallon.

I also got white distilled vinegar. You think sponges would like that and is it safe to put in a reef tank?
 

vetteguy53081

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Do not expose in any manner to air (must be submersed) and yellow ones are no good
 
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